Brickmaking-machine.



T. S. ROUSE.

BRICKMAKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, m5.

1,168,567, Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

a SHEETS-SHEET D 6?. v 31mm T. 8. HOUSE.

BRICKMAKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT; 13. 1915.

Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

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T. 8. HOUSE. 'BRICKMAKING vMACHINE.

APPLICATION FIL'ED SEPT. 13, I915. 1,1 5 7, Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

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iinirnn 's'rarns PATENT ferries- THOMAS s. Rouse; or BRAZIL, INDIANA,ASSTGNOR To HYDRAULIC-PRESS Bnicx currentl on ST. LOUIS, mrssounr, ACORPORATION or mzrssounr.

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Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

Application filed September 13, 1915. Serial No. 50,432.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS S. Rouse, a citizen of the'United States,residing at Brazil, in the county of Clay and State of Indiana, haveinvented certain, new and useful Improvements in Brickmaking-Ma chines,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to brick making machines and more particularly toa machine or mechanism adapted to ornament or mark in a peculiarmanner'one or more of the exterior surfaces of a brick, whereby when thebrick is assembled with others in a building the entire mass willproduce a certain desired effect.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple'and'practical mechanism of the above general character which will beinexpensive to'manufacture, install and operate. A further object is toprovide a mechanism of the above character which will be reliable andefiicient in use and operation. A further object is to provide a mecha-'nismof the above-mentioned character adapted to treat or operate uponone of the surfaces of a clay stream during the manufacture ofornamental brick.

Other objects will be in part obvious from the annexed drawings and inpart indicated in connection therewith by the following analysis of thisinvention. This invention accordingly consists in th features ofconstruction, combination of parts and in the unique relations of themembers and in the relative proportioning and disposition thereof, allasmore completely outlined herein.

To enable others skilled in the art so fully to comprehend theunderlying features thereof that they may embody the same by thenumerous modifications in structure and relation contemplated by, thisinvention, drawings depicting a preferred form have been annexed as apart of this disclosure, and in such drawings, like characters ofreference denotecorresponding parts throughout all the views, in which-I Figure 1 is an end elevational view of the complete device inoperative'position showing the manner in which it is adapted to operateupon the clay stream passing therethrough; Fig. 2 is a plan view of thesame which the claystream is adapted to pass.

he upper .ends of these bolts 3 are furnished with lock nuts 5 engagingthe upper and lower surfacesof the table, thus forming an adjustingmechanism for changing the relative height of the table with respect tothe cross bars'and the top or upper surface of the clay stream passingtherethrough. Upon the table 1 and immediately above the clay stream, asindicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, there is mounted two upwardlyprojecting bosses 6, preferably formed integrally with the table andlocated vertically above the clay stream and in tandem with respect toits direction of motion. These bosses are bored out centrally and areadapted to act as guides for reciprocating plungers 7 provided at theirlower ends with plates 8, lying in the same plane as the table 1 andabove the top of the clay stream. Guide 'pins 9 project upwardly fromthe plate 8 through suitable openings in the table 1, and movevertically as the plunger is reciprocated, thus preventing relativerotary movement of the plate 8 and associated parts. Immediately belowthis plate 8 and in contact therewith is a substantial wooden platen 10of sufiicient size to completely cover the width of the clay stream andhave its sides and lower surfaces covered with fleece or the like, asindicated, adapted to contact with the upper surface of the clay streamon depression of the plunger. Into the upper end of the push rod orplunger 7 is secured, as by means of a threaded connection, a push rod11, having suitable adjustable lock nuts 12 at its upper end and aspring 13 adapted to be compressed between washers l4: and 15 engagingthe lock nuts 12 and boss 6 respectively. These look nuts 12 serve as ameans for compressing the spring 13 aboutthe push red 11, and therebydetermine the force with which the plunger 7 and associated. partsreturn when depressed. These reciprocating plungers may be operatedinany desired manner, but the mecha-. nism hereinafter described isbelieved topossess certain" desirable advantages. A

' cam shaft 16 is. supported in bearings 17 near its-ends, which in turnare supported by the camshaft brackets 18 securely bolted or otherwisesecured to the top of the table 1, and preferably occupies a positionparallel and above the clay stream. Upon this cam shaft'l6 and spacedapart a distance substantially equal to that between the centers ofthebosses 6 on plate 1 are securely mounted twocams 19 of similardesign, having their throws diametrically opposite one another. Camshaft 16 is held in position longitudinally by two collars 20 attachedthereon and immediately outside of the cam shaft bearings17'. A pulley21 is secured to one end of the shaft, beyond one of the set collars 20,adapted to receive power from any convenient sourceand transmit the samein a manner to'rotate the shaft 16 and cam 17 associated therewith.

Parallel to the cam shaft--17 is a tappet shaft 22 supported in themiddle in a suitable bearing 23 firmly bolted or otherwise secured tothe top of the tablel between the cam shaft brackets 18 and bosses 6.This- V collars at, each end.- As the tappet arms 24 oscillate on theshaft 22 and being similarly disposed thereon, as are the cams 19 'on'shaft 16, extend backward and directly over these cams 19 whereby theyare oscillated at each rotation of the. cam shaft. The tappet arms 24also extend upwardly and directly over .the push rods 11. At their endsare preferably provided adjustable set screws having lcck nuts 26 whichdepress rods 11 in their downward movement, the set screws 26 serving asa means of relative adjustment between the rod 11, tappet arms 24 andcam 19.

- Having described the construction the operation thereof may be statedas follows: The shaft 16 being driven from the pulley 21 rotates at adesired rate of speed and causes one of the cams 19 to raise under oneend of its tappet arms 24, thus depressing the set screw 26' at theother end and causing the push rod 11 and coveredplatens 10 all to besimilarly depressed. Asthe'fabric comes in contact with the top of theclay column it presses back onto the column in a heterogeneous mass thesmall cuttings and particles which have previously been made anddistributed over the ban The throw of the cams 19 and the relativelocation of the-tappet shaft 22 with respect to the push rod 11 and camshaft 16 are so proportioned as to give the plunger 7 the necessaryvertical thrust. The throw of the two cams 19 being opposite the twoplungers 7 are alternately depressed-and raised by the turn spring, andat such a rapid speed relative to the slow moving clay stream that thecuttings are evenly pressed onto the clay bar without impeding itsmovement over the associated measuring table.

It is thus seen that the present invention rovides a simple andpractical mechanism or ornamenting and finishing clay streams in themanufacture of brick and one particularly adapted to accomplish amongothers 211 (if the objects and advantages above set ort Without furtheranalysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of this lnventionthat others can by applying current knowledge readily-adapt it forvarious applications without omitting certain features that, from thestandpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristicsof the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and therefore suchadaptations should andare intended tobe comprehended within the meaningand range of equivalency of the following claims:

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure'by Letters Patent is:

1 In a machine of the character described, in combination, a supportover which a relatively slow moving clay streamin combination, a support.over which a rela-' tively slow moving clay stream is adapted to pass,a table above said support aplurality of reciprocating plungers mountedon said table, means for yieldingly holding said plungers in raisedposition with their effective surfaces out of contact with the claystream, means for alternately depressing said plungers at a relativelyrapid speed, and means for adjusting the throw of the plungers and theforce with which their effective surfaces coact with the clay stream.

3. Ina machine of the character described,

, in combination, a support over which a relatively slow moving .claystream is adapted to pass, a table above said support, a plurality ofreclp'rocatmg plungers mounted on said table, means for yieldinglyholding said plungers in raised position with their effective surfacesout of contact with the clay stream, means for alternately depressingmeshes said plungers at a relatively rapid speed, and means foradjusting the throw of the plungers and the force with which theireffective surfaces coact with the clay stream, said means comprising anadjustment permitting a relative movement of the table carrying theplungers toward and from the clay stream.

4. In a machine of the character described, in combinatioma support overwhich a relatively slow continuously moving clay stream is adapted topass, a table adjacent said support, a plurality of plunger-s carried bythe table having platens at their effective ends substantially equal tothe width of the clay stream, arapidly revolving shaft. adjacent thetable and intervening means between the shaft and the plungers adaptedto rapidly depress said plungers to cause the platens to have a tappingengagement with the surface of the clay stream, and spring means adaptedto return the platens to normal position after each depression.

5. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a supportover which a relatively slow continuously moving clay stream is adaptedto pass, a table adjacent said support, a pluralit of plungers carriedby the table having p atens at their efl'ective ends substantially equalto the width of the clay stream, a rapidly revolving shaft adjacent thetable and intervening means between the shaft and the plungers adaptedto rapidly depress said plungers to cause the platens to have a tappingengagement with the surface of the clay stream, and means associatedwith the platen and table adapted to prevent relative rotation of theplaten with respect to the clay stream.

6. In a machine of the character de scribed, in combination, a supporton which a clay stream is adapted to pass, a table above said claystream, a reciprocating plunger mounted upon the table adapted to coactwith the clay stream, means for reciprocating said plunger, and meansfor adjusting the distance between the table and the support for theclay stream, said means comprising a plurality of threaded bolts forsaid table having lock nuts associated therewith for maintaining theheight of the table in predetermined relation to said clay stream.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS S. HOUSE.

Witnesses F. W. MILES,w D. J. STEPHENS.

